The morning was unusually still, but Zuree's mind buzzed with noise. Every glance from her peers felt like a dagger. The scandal spread further, getting blackmailed by Dr. Mark, and accompanied by cruel whispers and pointed laughter. She avoided the dining hall, opting to skip breakfast and stay in her room, but isolation only amplified the tension.
Neha sat on the stone bench behind the hostel, the crisp morning air stinging her cheeks. She lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply as the familiar burn filled her lungs. Smoking wasn't a habit, but an occasional escape... a way to process.
Her phone vibrated, and she lazily scrolled through her feed. The post about Zuree appeared almost immediately, its cruel captions glaring back at her. Neha froze, the cigarette dangling from her fingers.
"That's her," she muttered to herself, exhaling smoke. She recognized Zuree from last night... the tense girl with haunted eyes. Her stomach tightened at the sight of the photo and the mocking comments flooding the post.
Neha took another drag, letting the smoke curl around her as she stared at the screen. What kind of person would do this? she thought. And why target her?
By mid-afternoon, Neha couldn't shake the uneasy feeling gnawing at her. She climbed the stairs to Zuree's floor and hesitated in front of her door before knocking lightly.
A muffled voice came from inside. "Who is it?"
"It's Neha..." she called out. "From last night... in the kitchen."
There was a pause before the door creaked open. Zuree stood there, her face pale and eyes puffy from lack of sleep.
"Hey," Neha said gently. "Can I come in?"
Zuree hesitated but stepped aside. Neha entered and perched on the edge of the chair by the desk. "I saw the post," she began carefully.
Zuree flinched, crossing her arms tightly. "Everyone has," she muttered. "What do you want?"
"I want to help," Neha said, meeting her gaze.
Zuree blinked, surprised. "Help? Why? You don't even know me."
Neha shrugged. "I don't need to know someone to see when they're being treated unfairly..." She paused. "I've had my share of... people trying to ruin me. I know how it feels to be in this situation."
Zuree sat on the edge of her bed, her defenses wavering. "You don't understand. This isn't just rumors... it's deliberate. Someone is targeting me... and I don't know why."
Neha leaned forward. "Tell me everything," she said firmly.
Zuree hesitated, but something about Neha's presence was disarming. Slowly, she recounted the events... the cryptic messages, the police's dismissal, and her confrontation with Dr. Mark. Neha listened intently, her cigarette now forgotten on the edge of a plate.
"This Dr. Mark," Neha said, frowning, "he sounds... calculating. If he's involved, he's not just playing games. There's something bigger going on."
Zuree nodded. "But what can I do? Every time I try to fight back, it gets worse."
Neha tapped her fingers on the desk thoughtfully. "First, we need to figure out how they're tracking you. Your phone, your accounts... something's compromised."
Zuree looked alarmed. "You think they've hacked me?"
Neha was about to respond when her phone buzzed on the desk. Both of them glanced at it instinctively. The screen lit up with an unfamiliar number and a cryptic message:
"Neha Harun. 2019. The car. The accident. Do you want everyone to know?"
Neha's expression froze for a split second before she picked up the phone and read the message again, her face unreadable.
"What is it?" Zuree asked, her voice trembling.
Neha exhaled sharply and turned the phone toward her, showing her the screen. "Looks like whoever is after you has me on their radar now too."
Zuree's eyes widened, panic setting in. "Neha... what does it mean? What are they talking about?"
Neha set the phone down calmly, her jaw tightening. "They're trying to rattle me. The accident happened a few years ago, and yeah, it wasn't a proud moment, but it's nothing I'm ashamed of."
"But..."
"I'm not scared of them," Neha interrupted her voice firm. She reached for the cigarette she'd left in the plate, taking a long drag and exhaling slowly. "They're counting on me to back off, but they picked the wrong person."
Zuree blinked, stunned by Neha's composure. "But how... how can you be so calm about this?"
Neha gave a faint smirk. "Let's just say I've faced worse. Whoever this is, they're playing games with people's pasts, hoping to exploit fear. They're not used to someone who doesn't scare easily."
Zuree hugged herself tightly, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I wish I could be like that."
Neha leaned forward, her tone softening. "You're stronger than you think. They're coming after you because they see something in you... something that threatens them. The trick is not to let them see you break."
Zuree swallowed hard, her gaze dropping to the floor. "But they're not just after me. They're destroying everything around me. My reputation, my future..."
"And now they're targeting me," Neha said bluntly, stubbing out the cigarette. "Which means they're scared. They know I'm helping you, and they don't like it."
Zuree's voice was barely audible. "What if they find something about you... something worse?"
Neha shrugged a flicker of defiance in her eyes. "Let them dig. The thing about skeletons in the closet is, once you own them, no one else can use them against you."
She stood abruptly, brushing ash from her fingers. "I'm not backing out of this, Zuree. We're in this together. Let's find out who's behind this and make sure they regret it."
The quiet determination in Neha's voice was like a lifeline, pulling Zuree out of the fog of her despair. She nodded slowly, resolve hardening in her chest.
"Okay," Zuree whispered. "Let's do it."
Neha offered her a small, encouraging smile. "Good. Now, let's start by figuring out how they're tracking you. If they're using the scanner data, we'll need to know exactly what they pulled."
Zuree hesitated. "You used the scanner too, didn't you?"
Neha nodded. "Everyone did. That scanner was their trap, and it's working... mostly. But now we know where to start."
The two girls exchanged a glance, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Whatever secrets lay buried, they were going to unearth them together.